What's Your Number?

If you have traveled internationally lately, you have a number you don't know about. It was assigned to you by federal agents and the ATS (Automated Targeting System) based on your in-flight meal, seat preference, where you're from, your motor vehicle records, and other factors. This number is designed to give airport security an at-a-glance view of who they should be watching, frisking, denying the right to travel, etc... But don't worry - privacy advocates are on it, just like they were on the Patriot Act and the mandatory fingerprinting at Disney. Secure Flight, a similar program designed for domestic travel, has been banned by the courts until it can be proven that it is accurate and private. These numbers are not made available to the people they're assigned to, nor is there any way to know whether you have been assigned one at all.

We are quietly losing our civil liberties and no one seems to care. People just allow these things to happen without question, though President Bush and his Administration have used every trick in the book to make these things happen without arousing any suspicion from the public. Is anyone watching? Why isn't the media calling attention to these things? Why aren't more people calling for impeachment? The more I watch the news, the more I see a clear conservative bias. The liberal media is dead - if it ever existed at all.

2,888 US Soldiers dead
21,921 US Soldiers wounded

Your Best Weapon

In our consumerist society money is the best weapon you have against whatever it is you have chosen to fight. People tend not to use it because of the convenience. Who cares if Wal-Mart is exploiting its workers? As long as they have low prices, people will continue to shop there. Well, not I! In America your money is an extention of who you are. Marketing companies figured out years ago that what you buy says a lot about your lifestyle. What the majority of Americans haven't figured out yet is that where you shop is equally as important. If a corporation you give money to, even through purchases, supports a particular cause, you are giving money to that cause whether you agree with it or not. Unfortunately, many Americans are too lazy to research these companies and decide how comfortable they are about buying clothes that were made in a 3rd world sweat shop or food that has so many antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides in it that the flavor has to be replaced with artificial substances.

Even if you don't have the time or patience to only patronize establishments that support all of your pet causes, you CAN choose one or two that are most important. If you support domestic partnerships for homosexuals, don't buy gas from Exxon or contribute to the Salvation Army. If you are anti-Mormon, stay away from your local Albertsons or ACME, and keep your son home from Boy Scouts. If you support independent artists, step away from the Jessica Simpson CD and buy your music online. If you think not enough people are speaking up or speaking out, make sure you buy tickets to see political comics, buy books by authors who are trying to tell the truth, and get your news online.

Donate to THIS cause because:
2,879 US Soldiers have been killed in Iraq
21,778 US Soldiers have been wounded in Iraq

Who Won?

I originally started this blog because I was fed up with the Republican Administration and I needed an outlet for my anger and frustration. Over the past two years I have learned that the Republicans and Democrats are not all that different. This election day I was disappointed to find that I was right. The American people elected Democrats who are opposed to gay marriage, who are anti-abortion, etc... Even Tom DeLay agrees that the Democrats didn't win, the Republicans lost. Democrats are really just govern with a more sensitive imperialism, but there were some "wins" for those of us who have been begging to get out from under the thumb of Lord Bush and his Cabal. As 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament said in an unprecedented joint statement, "this is the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world." The American people seem to agree, as Democrats now control the House, the Senate, and a majority of state Governorships. Someone might even call for impeachment!

This election day was also a win for diversity. Hopefully this election day was a win for women. Nancy Pelosi will take over as Speaker of the House, a mere two seats away from the Presidency. If we're luck, this will open minds and prepare people for more women running for high-level positions in government. It's a long time coming, but it is coming. Minnesota elected the first Muslim to the US House of Representatives (Keith Ellison), and Massachusetts has elected the first African American Governor since reconstruction (Deval Patrick). Perhaps the best news was the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, most likely for this reason:

2,843 US soldiers killed in Iraq
21,572 US soldiers wounded in Iraq

They're Gay, Stupid, or Both

Last week New Jersey decided that homosexuals have the the same domestic rights as the rest of us, which is great because now their former Republican governor (Tim McGreevey) can live the life he had been denying for so long. After the Foley scandal and now Ted Haggard, I'm beginning to wonder if all Republicans in government are just hiding the flames coming out of their asses - not that there's anything wrong with being gay, it's just nice if you admit to it (and stop trying to legislate against it). Soon instead of saying someone's "a little light in the loafers" we'll all say, "He's a little Republican." Additionally, why does anyone feel bad that these guys are having their personal lives brought into the campaign? Wouldn't it be better to ask why they're so insensitive to a topic or a group of people they're so familiar with?

In funnier news, Senator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) said that an employee of his opponent, "unfortunately ate a banana laced with marijuana and had to go to the hospital." Seriously. That's what he said. This presents several problems. First, how, exactly, do you lace a banana with marijuana? My husband and I spent a good deal of time trying to figure that out. Second, why would you eat a banana that had already been peeled? Bananas are like condoms. When you see the wrapper, you pretty much assume that you're the first one to get there. Third, do you have any idea how much THC it would take to actually send someone to the hospital? The banana would have to be pure THC. It would keep you regular, but you'd forget where the bathroom was.

It seems to me that the Republicans (of all sexual orientations) are getting a little nervous about the election. Maybe it's because of these numbers:
Two thousand, eight hundred and twenty two US Soldiers won't be voting in next week's elections.
Twenty one thousand, four hundred and nineteen US soldiers have been wounded in Iraq
Possibly over six hundred thousand Iraqis killed
Does it have more impact if I SPELL IT OUT for you???

Something to Run On

On the day that the National Intelligence Estimate went public stating that the war in Iraq has created more Islamic radicals, former President Bill Clinton criticized Fox News for not being a balanced news source. He had been asked if he had done enough to fight terrorism and before saying no, he chastised the commentator for not asking the same question of President Bush and his Adminsitration, who had done NOTHING to fight or acknowledge terrorism in the 8 months they were in office prior to 9/11. President Clinton also explained that he had tried to kill Bin Laden, that he had authorized the CIA to do so if possible, and ended the interview by criticizing the small number of troops in Afghanistan looking for the actual mastermind of 9/11 and the overblown importance placed in Iraq.

By making these statements publicly, Former President Clinton gave the Democrats, including his wife, something to run on. Though he is nearly invincible politically at the moment, he showed the Democrats that not only is it okay to have a backbone, it's actually preferred to the wishy-washy, fake, no-substance answers we have been hearing for the past 6 years. I hope that the Democrats finally start standing up and hitting back on these issues, especially since they have the political and moral upper-hand. All we need now are impeachment proceedings.

2,711 US Soldiers have been killed in Iraq
20,486 US Soldiers have been wounded in Iraq

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO DEMAND THAT THIS ENDS??? or at least that we be told why this was begun?

Unanswered Questions

One year after the most devastating hurricane to hit New Orleans and almost five years after the towers came crashing down, WE KNOW NOTHING. We've been distracted, disinformed, and obviously disinterested. Not only do we not know the answers, we haven't even asked the questions. We have collectively failed the people of New Orleans, New York, and New Baghdad. Our nation has an attention span of about 10 minutes. We're told more about John Mark Karr (who DID NOT kill JonBenet Ramsey) and what he ate on his first class trip from Thailand than we are about Ray Nagin's constant struggle, exactly what happened on 9/11, and why, OH WHY, we are fighting a war in Iraq. And it seems like that's okay with us because we don't ask. I am ashamed of us. Maybe we deserve what we get.

2,633 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
19,733 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

Updated Title: Polygyny - It's Better for the Kids

I wonder how many people stay together for the sake of the children. In this country it's not many since we have a divorce rate so high it's embarrassing, like everything else Americans do., but I think it might be better for the kids if divorced parents continued to live in the same home but carried on slightly separate lives. There's no reason why consenting adults can't come to an agreement on how to date, when to introduce a new member of the family, and how to live, compound style, if need be, so that the kids have access to both of their parents every day. Someone would be able to stay at home with the younger kids at all times, and schedules could be arranged so that an adult is home by the time the kids are back from school. That leads to more supervision for the children, equaling a better education (because someone can make sure their homework is finished), more parental involvement in school (because someone will have the time), and fewer instances of children getting access to things they shouldn't have (like video and computer games, music parents disagree with, TV shows that are inappropriate, etc...) Besides all of that, with several adults paying the bills, more children would have access to private schools.

Update: For the less liberal, click here for information on housing cooperatives.

Use Less Oil

Why is it that no one can seem to use this phrase? Whenever anyone is interviewed about the current crisis in the Middle East or the reduced number of barrels from Alaska, their response is that Americans will have to import more oil from overseas, causing a rise in gas prices. They never say, "Americans will have to use less oil". Obviously no one but Al Gore wants to put a kink in our consumer chain (but who listens to him anyway?), and NO ONE wants to see the oil companies make less money, but how hard is it to say, "Take a walk. Take the bus or train. Build green. Cut down on your use of plastics. Recycle. Put on a sweater. Use cloth diapers. STOP DRIVING SUV's!!!"

They won't say these things because Americans don't want to hear that in order for us to do better individually, we need to make sacrifices as a nation. Americans aren't really good at that word: sacrifice. They're much better at dealing with or repressing the guilt that comes with not sacrificing, if it comes at all. Isn't it our patriotic duty to use less oil, especially when we're at war with one of the major producers of it, and every country that harbors terrorists gets most of their money from oil? This is not a game, people, and it is certainly not a dress rehearsal. THE WORLD IS NOT ENDING. We can reverse the damage we've done and do better in the future.

The Drinking Age

I was watching an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (don't ask me why) and it was discussing the drinking age. Of course, the way they handled the subject ended badly for everyone, but they made a point that we seem to have forgotten: If teens learn to drink in a safe and responsible environment, they will carry those habits with them the rest of their lives. If they learn to drink 40's in the middle of nowhere and drive home drunk to make curfew, THOSE are the habits they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. The only reason OUR drinking age is so high is that our government doesn't believe that parents can turn their kids into responsible adults. Instead, they feel the need to regulate anything that might hurt us, thereby taking the decision-making out of our hands.

I think it's a better idea to talk to kids about alcohol and teach them to use it responsibly at or before (with direct parental supervision) the age of 16. The countries where the legal drinking age is 16 or lower have very few problems with alcohol. People are taught not to drink and drive (which works better when there is a good and SAFE public transportation system), not to over-indulge (for reference, visit your nearest college), and what their limits are (which isn't happening here, as evidenced by AA and the 12 Steps) in a safe environment surrounded by people who care about them.

Truth, Justice, and...

Superman Returns seems to have gone slightly political. Many people see Superman's slogan change as minor, but I think it represents a larger world view, one that cannot be ignored. It is difficult for Superman to fight for truth in a world where its definition is hazy. We watch news conferences filled with spin and "reality" shows that do absolutely nothing to mimic real life (mostly because that would be incredibly boring). When our soldiers are fighting a war for lies and no one is held accountable, there is no justice.

And what exactly is the American Way? It seems to have more to do with the work of Haliburton than with the work of Green Peace. It is consumerism (oil, and our disposable, planned obsolescence society), greed (Haliburton), superficiality (just watch Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, etc...), colossal errors in judgment (Bush), and abandonment (the poor, the education system, those in need of health care, Social Security, immigration...). We have run this nation so far into the ground that even Superman doesn't want to be associated with us. Even my father, generally the winner of "Staunch Republican of the Year", thinks we have a better shot at raising a family and doing well for ourselves in Europe or Canada.

2,543 US soldiers killed in Iraq
18,874 US soldiers wounded in Iraq
Accurate count of Iraqis killed: Unavailable

Profanity

As an English teacher, the significance of words means a lot to me. Words are powerful, if you use them correctly. I have always been intrigued by the power people give to certain words, as it they should somehow mean more when there are other words that mean the exact same thing but are somehow less offensive. For example, I heard one of my neighbors tell her ten-year-old son to use the word buns instead of ass and I thought, "What's the difference? He's just substituting one word for another, and all you're really telling him is to use a different word around you." Why should he do that, especially when everyone knows he's going to say ass when he's around his friends and buns when he's around his mom. It's not a sign of respect that he doesn't use "bad" language around his mother.

The truth is, there's really no reason not to use "profanity". The actual definition is "to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt", and the last time I checked, asses, shit, and sex certainly weren't sacred (unless you're uber religious, in which case your opinion doesn't count). Some of the smartest people I know say fuck all the time. Does that cancel out the rest of what they say? No. So what's the big fuckin' deal? Why does it really matter if you say poop instead of shit or ass instead of tushie? It only really offends those who have a fucking stick up their asses so far that they believe their shit doesn't stink. Why humor those people? Why limit our freedom of speech just because it upsets someone? Putting up a front so as not to offend anyone is pretty much just lying about who you really are.

*NOTE: Please note the definition of profanity in the title link. Words that are considered to be name-calling or hate-speech, such as bitch, cunt, nigger, spic, etc... are not in the same arena as the so-called seven words you can't say on TV. Though people have the freedom to use these words if they chose, they are considered to be inflammatory when directed at a particular person, and are NOT socially acceptable for general usage. In any case, I DO NOT demand that people stop using them, however, I will not allow their usage in my presence. Part of a free society is the ability to walk away (or delete if necessary).

Grasping at Straws

As a teacher, I do my best to remain neutral in the classroom on all subjects, especially those that I am most passionate about. I won't talk about politics, I avoid questions about religion, and I refer them to their parents when it comes to drugs. I do this because I wouldn't want anyone to tell my child how to think about these issues, so I guess it's sort-of a "do unto others" kind of a thing, which is why I was appalled to learn that educators, coaches, and mentors in New Jersey are touring Fort Dix, taking rides in helicopters, and shooting weapons so that they can target their students and encourage them to join the military. Due to this program, recruitment in New Jersey is up, though it is down in almost every other state.

I firmly believe that NO ONE, including a teacher or principal, gets to talk to my child about a career choice (especially one that could get them killed), or any life choice, for that matter, without my presence or permission. The military says the program is designed to give educators a better understanding of what it does. I'm quite clear on the objectives of the US military, thank you very much. I find it disturbing that the government uses the fact that schools use federal money to force them to allow things to happen that are not in the best interest of the student, such as allowing recruiters to spend time in schools and talk to children without parental permission.

As of today:
2,525 US soldier dead in Iraq
18,572 US soldiers wounded in Iraq (at least)
Over 50,000 Iraqi s killed

Obesity

I recently saw a story on the Nightly News about obesity in the United States and how it is becoming one of the largest growing industries in America. People are marketing to overweight Americans with Biggie-sized everything. Even hospitals are widening chairs and beds to accommodate fat people. The story really annoyed me. Not once did they mention WHY Americans are fat, what they can do to reduce their weight, or the health risks associated with being overweight. They made it sound like obesity is just another growing trend. They didn't reference the FDA and how they are failing to do anything to help solve the problem, or that Americans are much more sedentary then they have ever been at any time in our country's past. Nor did they mention that fat people themselves are to blame for the problem. How difficult is it to say, "PUT DOWN THE BURGER!!!"? Eat a salad, or, gasp, exercise. I am disgusted by the obesity problem in America, especially when people are starving in other parts of the world. I feel it is another are in which the people and the government have dropped the ball. This is a selfish, consumer-based, apathetic society. Americans expect to have everything handed to them, and shun hard-work and self-control as if it were the plague.

And I should mention that I am not thin. Before I was pregnant I was 15 pounds overweight, but I NEVER attributed the extra pounds to anything but my own lack of self-control and aversion to regular exercise. I should also mention that since I became pregnant, I have put on a minimal amount of weight because I changed my eating habits immediately, exercised self-control much more, and started doing simple things like taking the stairs and walking the dogs more often.

It's About Time

This is a case of, "right idea, wrong way to go about it". Our Secretary of Education is traveling to other countries to find a way to change the shape of US education policy. Though Spellings is not the first person in this office to do so, it does seem that she's traveling quite a bit more, and often to countries that have nothing to offer us academically.

I agree that we have a lot to learn from certain countries about education, especially if we want our children to be able to compete on a global scale, but some of the ones Spellings is traveling to leave a lot to be desired, and open her up to the criticism that it's all just PR. England's system is beginning to go downhill, but they still have National Education Standards, like France, which is something this country could certainly benefit from. The program in Japan is incredible, and though she's not going there, looking at education in China could also be beneficial. If we're going to go by test scores, she should stop by Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany to get some insight into math education, though she is going to Russia, a country that is way ahead of us in science, along with Canada.

With the war in Iraq and the economic problems we have at the moment, education seems pretty low on the priority list for most Americans. With elections approaching, it is up to the average American to shape the debate. We must steer the politicians away from volatile issues where nothing gets resolved such as gay marriage and abortion and focus on more pressing issues, like how Americans can receive affordable health care and why our children are not as well educated as those in countries with more kids and less money.

Treason

On NPR yesterday there was a story about an Iraqi man living in the US who was arrested under the Patriot Act for sending money to family members who are left in Iraq. I had a rather heated discussion with my husband (who believes that people SHOULD be able to send money to their family) over this. Though I sympathize with the Iraqi people, especially since we have destroyed their country for no reason, I think the government WAS justified in arresting this man. Though he probably intended the money to go towards food, medicine, and other essentials, we cannot be sure that his family is not part of the insurgency and wouldn't use the money for purchasing weapons, creating IED's, or funding people who are doing those things. I explained to my husband that if my cousin was killed in Iraq and I knew that Americans were able to send money there, I would always wonder if it was one of my own people who provided the money for the weapon that killed him. Even though I wholeheartedly disagree with this war and I believe the Iraqi people are perfectly justified in fighting against us, especially with the added fuel of the Haditha incident, I DO NOT believe that anyone living in America and benefiting from our economic system should be able to send money to a country with which we are at war. That is treason, plain and simple.

The Boy Scouts

I grew up with all boys, and most of them were Boy Scouts. I thought that was cool until a few tears ago, when the Boy Scouts were effectively taken over by the Mormon Church. Since then, the Boy Scouts have taken on policies that are discriminatory in nature, such as not allowing gays or aetheists to be scouts or scout leaders. That doesn't sound to me like doing a good turn daily. Oh, but they are a private organization, you say. They can do what they want. NO TRUE!!
They ARE a private organization, but they use government money and buildings. They receive special dispensation from the government because the Boy Scouts are considered a "patriotic organization". That means that they rent government buildings and facilities for $1. The Boy Scout Jamboree held at Fort AP Hill costs the Boy Scouts $1 and the American tax payers $5,000,000 every 4 years. Regular meetings are held in schools or other public buildings for free or for no more than $1 a year. So, American taxpayers are paying for a discriminatory organization to use their facilities. Boy Scouts are also one of the only organizations that are allowed to recruit students without a parent present. As Americans, we need to demand that this group ends its discriminatory practices or gets out of our schools and public buildings. We also need to demand that they not speak to our sons without our permission.

Because They Lived...

I didn't post yesterday for a very specific reason. Memorial Day is sacred. As an American, especially an American who hails from a LONG line of soldiers on both sides of my family, Memorial Day means a lot more than great bargins, pool openings, and the first grilled steak of the season. Memorial Day is just that, a day to memorialize, to remember, and to thank those men and women who gave their lives so that I could live mine. It is a somber, sacred occasion, so forgive me if I NEVER hold a BBQ. It is NOT a day to have a party, take a trip, or see a movie. It is NOT the "official start of summer". It is, in short, our true Thanksgiving Day.

Our nation has been engaged in several types of wars, some in which our country and it's livelihood were ACTUALLY at stake, and others, like Vietnam and the Gulf Wars, in which we fought only for the profit of the wealthy and powerful. Either way, soldiers died truly believing that they were defending this nation and its people. A sale and a BBQ is not an appropriate way to mourn the loss of those lives, and certainly doesn't celebrate the reason for their sacrifice. Yesterday we mourned the loss of friends, family members, and complete strangers who gave their lives so that, if we're lucky, our unborn son will never be in the difficult and disturbing situation our soldiers find themselves in today. Don't we owe these men and women a little more remembrance than bargains and BBQ's?

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that Google does not change their logo on Memorial Day like it does for other holidays. Though this may seem like a small thing, it is important that we recognize the importance of this day as something much more than a day off. I will be writing a letter to Google to encourage them to change their logo next year, and I encourage you to do the same.

Legends, All

When I was growing up I often had my mother around. Every day at 4PM I could count on being incredibly bored as Oprah was on TV and it was the ONLY time of day that my sister and I were forbidden from changing the channel (until 6PM when my Dad got home and put on the news). When my mother went back to work, I continued watching Oprah (I was 13) and I often found her show interesting. I particularly enjoyed her book club (not started until much later), but her program seemed mostly uplifting and a break from what daily talk shows seem to have become.

With all of Oprah's talk about women, especially those in positions of power, it became clear to me that, as a woman, it is my duty to give something back. She is one of the first women who made it clear that we could be anything we wanted. We did not have to be homemakers. We didn't have to get married (poor Stedmand). We certainly did not have to have children. None of these things defined us. Only our intelligence, our generosity, and the way we choose to live our lives really determines who we are. Even so, Oprah felt the need to celebrate the "ordinary" women, the homemakers, the teachers, the grandmothers, so that we may be inspired by the way they have lived there lives and learn from their example.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Oprah worshiper. I haven't watched her program in years, though I think I should probably start again. But it was her Legend's Ball that brought me back to the table and made me realize that I have been neglectful in my duties to myself, to the women in my life, and MOST ESPECIALLY, to the women around the world. First, I am going to start by getting involved in women's issues. I have a few months off from work, I might as well use it to the advantage of those around me. Next, I will be writing letters to my local, state, and federal representatives to find out exactly what they're doing to help women and telling them what I think they SHOULD be doing. Finally, I am going to start my own local women's organization where we can share our successes, our failures, and continue along the course of providing for women's needs, fighting for women's rights, and honoring those that have helped us come this far.

Letting Children Die

The wealthiest nation in the world, a phrase we use often enough when it suits us, has the second worst infant mortality rate in the modern world (tied with the United Kingdom). It seems to me we should be doing better, but the United States, with all its technology, money, and more neonatal and intensive care beds per person than several countries, still ignores women on many levels. Many, especially those in rural or urban areas, do not have access to the information necessary to take proper care of their children in the womb. Prenatal vitamins, even with a prescription, are expensive, and not necessarily a good purchase to make over food, milk, or heat. Low income mothers cannot afford to cut back on their work hours to give themselves the amount of rest required to actually grow a person inside of them, and the nutrition statistics for the average American make it pretty clear that few are eating what they must to keep themselves healthy, let alone an unborn child.

After the baby is born, most mothers must return to work immediately in order to pay for the care of the child, forcing them to place the child in Day Care, where understaffing (the pay and conditions are atrocious) and a general lack of knowledge on the part of the providers (only one per site MUST be college educated) can lead to illness, malnutrition, accidents, abuse, and neglect (trust me, my husband teaches preschool, I've seen this first-hand).

So why does this happen? I feel it has a lot to do with the lack of respect afforded women in or culture. No guys, we are not doing well. American culture does not teach a respect for women or mothers, and it still does not treat us as equals. For a better model, take a look at Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Germany, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada. We are still treated as objects to be possessed, unable to take care of ourselves, and unworthy of equal pay and benefits. We ARE the givers of life. Yes, you have a small part in it, but we are the ones who make the decisions to have, keep, and raise a child, with less than equal help from men. We MUST demand better treatment, equal treatment, respectful treatment. And obviously, we have to do it ourselves. Ever woman should be actively involved in Women's Organizations, regardless of your religious beliefs. We have to work together to save ourselves, our children, and our society. If we don't, no one else will.

These are my favorites, but more organizations can be found at The National Council of Woman's Organizations:
National Association of Working Women
Alice Paul Institute
American Medical Women's Association

You Go, Lou Dobbs!

Recently Lou Dobbs attacked President Bush and his cabal on their immigration policy. The spark may have been the idea that placing National Guard troops at the boarders would do ANYTHING to really stem the flow of the nearly 3 million illegal immigrants that cross them each year if our policies continue to favor them. I think it's quite clear that the best way to stop them from coming is to HEAVILY fine, and possibly close down businesses that hire them. In 2004, only 3 employers who hired illegal immigrants were fined. I could find three businesses employing illegal immigrants just by walking down the street. And when the illegal immigrants are found, they MUST be deported. Being sent back to your own country makes it harder for you to get back in, especially if we ACTUALLY fund and increase the Boarder Patrol, and deters you from uprooting your family once again.

I am torn by the plight of the illegal immigrant, even though all of the immigrants I know are 100% legal. It was very difficult and very expensive for any of them to obtain Visas. In some cases, it took as long as 10 years and as much as $12,000. In many countries, the application fee alone is phenomenally high for the income of the middle class worker, and once they do get here and get jobs, the majority of their income goes towards lawyer fees, more application fees, etc., making it extremely difficult for them to rise out of poverty. The system is against them, like it is against all of them, but they should not be protesting that they should be given amnesty. If they want to be taken seriously, the need to protest against the policies and the fees that make it SO DIFFICULT for them to become legitimate, legal citizens. As illegals, they technically don't have the right to protest anyway, so if they're going to do it, they should make sure it's for something that won't alienate the very country they're trying to become citizens of.

What We Don't Know

I've been watching a series on the Discovery Channel called What the Ancients Knew. When I was discussing the Japanese ability to create non-electronic robots, I was overcome by how much we don't know and how much we ignore.

We ignore so much of the knowledge of the past because we see it as provincial, quaint, and small-minded. We forget that from those ideas come our own. We can expand on something someone knew thousands of years ago and come up with something like a microchip (it has to do with ceramics). We are looking less and less to the past, and as a result, important scientific discoveries are being held up, or worse, completely overlooked.

We are so far behind the rest of the world educationally, but we should be even more ashamed of how little we have been able to accomplish with the information we have. At this point in history more people have more access to the most information humankind has EVER had. Shouldn't we be doing better? Are we really, as a country, as a world, or even as individuals, working up to our potential? Somehow, I doubt it.

And the Band Stopped Playing

I watched a documentary called "All We Are Saying" with my husband the other night about the fate of the music industry. There were several things that struck me, but the most disturbing is that Joni Mitchell has quit writing and playing music because of the process it had to go through with today's industry, which is run largely by people who know NOTHING about music.

Much of the film focused on the image associated with the music industry. Many musicians believe that they never would have made it by today's standards, and I tend to agree. I have a feeling Mick Jagger and Janis Joplin would not have stood up against Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake. Why? Because no one really cares about the lyrics anymore. People simply want to be entertained. They don't want music that really means anything. Think about it. When was the last time you were really moved by a song that's been written in the last 5 years? Country music doesn't count. We're talking about rock, folk, and punk here. Even alternative music isn't really an alternative. A least hip-hop gives a culture to a youth that is strongly without direction. The press is shallow, the critics don't really know anything about music, an no one has an attention span of more than a few minutes. If we're not careful, we will lose our music. We've already lost some of our best musicians.

They're Called Illegal Because THEY ARE

On Bill Maher last month, Jorge Ramos of Univision objected to illegal immigrants being called illegal. There are a lot of problems with the immigration issue, many of them governmental, but a few have to do with the way Americans look at the problem. There is no way to get around the fact that if you are in the country illegally, you are breaking the law and should be held accountable for doing so. People employing illegal immigrants should be prosecuted as well. Schools should be reporting students that they know to be illegal. Hospitals should immediately report patients that they know to be illegal. I also think that if illegals aren't paying property taxes or income taxes, they should not receive the same services as people who do. If their house catches on fire or a robber invades, they don't really have the right to call the fire department or police because they haven't paid for those services. Much of the problem, like many we have, has to do with the complacency of the American people.

Also on Bill Maher and related to immigration, author Erica Jong stated that American workers won't do the jobs that illegals will do. She specifically stated that you cannot get an American woman to be a nanny (I guess the years I spent as one don't count, and neither do my friends who have made it their career). Senator Dana Rohrbacher was right when he said that Americans will do the jobs, they just have to be paid a decent wage. The problem isn't the illegal immigrants, it's the cheap, greedy Americans who refuse to pay people a wage they can live on. Besides all of that, if the welfare system were eliminated for able-bodied citizens, people WOULD do the jobs illegals are doing or starve. This isn't like the depression. The jobs are out there.

Finally, if the process of becoming a legal immigrant were easier, many more people would do it. For someone in a country like Colombia to have to pay a $100 (American) registration fee just to get denied is nearly impossible. That's almost a year's salary, for some several years. I'm not saying there shouldn't be a fee, but it should be adjusted to fit a professional salary in the country of the applicant. To have the same fee across the board is extremely unfair, and obviously, contributes to the illegal immigration problem.

No More SUV's

I have several problems with SUV's, one of them being fuel efficiency. The fact that any car on the road would only get 17 miles to a gallon is absolutely reprehensible, especially given the price of gas and the amount of foreign oil we rely on. But that's not my biggest problem.

I drive a small car. Quite often, especially on the highway, an SUV or a truck will pull up behind me and drive incredibly close to my bumper. I was taught that if you can't see the bottom of the rear tires of the person in front of you, you're too close. It seems that SUV and truck drives have been taught that if you can see the bumper of the car in front of you, you're not close enough. I have been rear-ended twice by an SUV in the past 5 months. Thankfully, my car and I are fine, but most people hit by SUV's and trucks aren't as lucky. If an SUV or truck hits a regular car, the accident is much more severe for the driver of the regular sized car.

For this reason, I am suggesting that there be a special lane just for trucks and SUV's. It's just not safe for them to drive with the rest of us. It's difficult to be a defensive driver when all you can see is the big, fat SUV in front of you. Though I think it's environmentally irresponsible, I don't deny people the right to drive the car they choose, I just don't want them in the same lane with me. It's just not safe.

Just Not the Gays

The military has lowered its standards again to try to boost recruitment and I worry about the kinds of people fresh-out-of-high-school recruits might be serving next to, especially when the military is giving guns to people with a past including criminal misconduct such as making terrorist threats (to allow the Army to cash in on the Michigan Militia crowd). The enlistment age has been raised to 40, we're giving out a lot of medical wavers, and a past of drug abuse (to cash in on the stoner crowd) and alcohol addiction is no longer a problem (so our soldiers might not be the most fit). High school drop-outs are being accepted (so much for the smart-soldier argument). We're allowing all of these people to enlist in the military even though they have some serious problems that could put themselves and the soldiers they serve with in danger. But if you're gay, you'd better keep it quiet or you're going to be discharged.

And you guys are telling me that homosexuals are thought of and treated as equals? The message being sent here is that they are worse than criminals, alcohol abusers, and athsmatics. We should be ashamed.

No News

There's something very disturbing to me about people who never watch the news or don't think the news is important. I know that it's difficult to care when you're just trying to put a roof over your head and food in your body, but government policy effects your ability to do that, and you hear about government policy in the news.

My students only have one TV in each dorm, and you can pretty much bet it's not tuned to the news. It didn't occur to me that they were missing out on information until a student came in yesterday and saw the Corretta Scott King funeral program on my desk. He was surprised to find that she had died two weeks ago. He hadn't heard anything about it.

High school is when students really start to get interested in the world around them, especially if they are guided by an adult to find things that they're interested in and read about them. Kids are naturally curious, but teenagers are naturally self-absorbed. Public schools do a pretty good job of keeping students into he loop about what's going on (as long as it's not political or religious), but I think boarding schools in America (I've worked at several) are doing a huge disservice to their students by not encouraging them to read the newspaper, watch the news, or check it on the Internet. For my part, I'll be requiring an opinion essay on a news story once a week, and I feel remiss in not having done so before.

Something You Should Know...

Special thanks to Sarchasm

17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date.

Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police.

African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police.

The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.

The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years. Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women.

Every 90 seconds, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.

According to the 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, 62% of rape and sexual assault victims knew the perpetrator. Sexual violence is associated with a host of short- and long-term problems, including physical injury and illness, psychological symptoms, economic costs, and death.

About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds.

Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships.

Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes.

An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor.

Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds.

A University of Pennsylvania research study found that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to low-income, inner-city Philadelphia women between the ages of 15 to 44 - more common than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined.

At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect.

Globally, at least one in three women and girls had been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.

In a recent survey by the Kenyan Women Rights Awareness Program, 70% of the men and women interviewed said they knew neighbors who beat their wives. Nearly 60% said women were to blame for the beatings. Just 51% said the men should be punished. 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year.

In Bangladesh, 47 % of adult women report physical assault by a male partner (UNFPA)

In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia): 62% reported having been raped in prostitution. 73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution. 92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.

So-called "honour killings" take thelives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. In 1999, more than 1000 women in Pakistan were victims of honour crimes.

More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)

In Uganda HIV infection is 6 times higher among young girls than boys with the difference in rates beginning as early as 9 years old and reaching a peak for the age-12-19 years old. This is due to old men seeking young girls for sexual exploitation with the belief that they are free from HIV.

In Canada, 62% of women murdered in 1987 died at hands of an intimate male partner.

In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare.

A study in Zaria, Nigeria found that 16 percent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were under 5.

Don't Ask. Don't Tell.

Lately the major issue to reduce the limitations on civil liberties facing homosexuals in this country has been gay marriage and civil unions, but we forget that there are other issues at stake, especially one that is infinitely more important. If we are living in a tolerant society in which everyone has equal rights, why is it that a gay soldier cannot make his or her orientation known? There are events in which spouses are invited to attend, as well as normal office conversations centered around husbands and wives. Why must homosexuals be excluded from these events and discussions? How does that show that we are one of the most tolerant nations in the world? More importantly, why can't gay and lesbian soldiers enjoy the same freedoms they are fighting for and may die defending?

At Harvard Medical School a group of students gathered to protest the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy of the United States Military. At the military school nearby, any student who engages in homosexual activity, no limited to the act of sex itself, is to be immediately dismissed. It is a major insult to be called gay. But yet, we continue to pretend that we live in a society where all Americans are treated equally.

Goodbye Betty, Not-So-Crocker

Today I mourn the loss of a woman who was a source of many discussions at my Women's College. Betty Friedan's book, "The Feminine Mystique", inspired the Women's Movement in the United States and encouraged women to fight for such controversial rights as equal pay, maternity leave, and abortion. Betty Friedan helped women begin to think outside the box and realize that our worth lies in much more than our ability to get married and have children. It is difficult to grasp the immensity of what Friedan and other prominent women have done for me, especially for men who have always had the rights my gender had to fight for. My meditation for today will focus on the struggles of women in our country as well as the extreme difficulties facing women around the world. For more information on how you can help women, visit the bipartisan National Council of Women's Organizations.

Seeking Legitimacy and Peace

For year the US and Israel have been saying that they will not talk to Hamas because they are a terrorist organization and have no legitimacy. Finally, having realized that we were serious, Hamas decided to legitimacy themselves and run as a political party. Then, having won the election, and therefore, legitimacy as it has been described worldwide, Hamas offers to share power with the opposing party. It still refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, but Hamas IS the elected party and has the freedom to do as it pleases. Democracy has a dark side.

There are several ways this could go. The US and Israel could back down on their pledge not to talk to Hamas, mostly because the leader of the organization made an excellent point. What if leaders from all over the world stopped negotiating with various countries based only on who had been elected? And democratically, at that! This may not be a choice we like, but Hamas has been elected and they do run the country. Not talking with them could mean war. And the US will most likely support Israel militarily, which would probably result in a draft here. Our economy would take another hit that we can't afford. Bad things would happen. So I'm hoping everyone swallows their pride and takes a seat at the table.

My thoughts are with Israel and the concern they must be feeling at this volatile time in their part of the world. May their courage, strength, and unwavering faith sustain them.

I Am a Sellout

Senator Rick Santorum came to speak to students at our school yesterday as a publicity stunt, both for the school and for the Iraq war. Suprisingly, he offered to answer questions. I have to say, I'm proud of my boys. They didn't let the Senator off too easily, but there was one question about his speech I desperately wanted to ask: Why did you refer to 9/11 when justifying the Iraq war even though no connection has been established between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden?

I don't know how we can talk about free speech in America when I know for a fact that asking that question would have gotten me fired. If I were teaching in a public school, asking that question would have gotten me a discipline slip at the very least. We have become a nation so afraid of what people think and how they will react that we censor ourselves to protect our families and our jobs. I had a teacher who told me, "Doing the easy thing is rarely right and doing the right thing is rarely easy". I am ashamed to say that yesterday, I did the EASY thing even though I knew with all of my heart that it wasn't the RIGHT thing. I set a bad example for my students, and taught them to keep their mouths shut even when they come across something they KNOW is wrong.

Sororities

I went to a Women's College and we used to joke that we didn't need sororities on campus because we were one. There was relatively little pressure on the dating front because men weren't generally around campus. For those who wanted to go Greek, there was a large University just down the street. Their sororities didn't recruit our women, but they didn't turn them away, either.

After reading Pledged by Alexandra Robbins, I was glad to have been sheltered from all of that. My college boyfriend was Greek, Phi Delta Theta to be exactly (just like my Daddy), so I got to observe the who process from the outside. I sent time in the frat house, went to formal, semi-formal, etc... and watched as girls who had previously ignored my boyfriend fell all over him once he was a brother. At least he was too smitten with me to notice!

Anyway, there was some scary information in the book, such as the fact that pipes at sorority house corrode at an alarming rate due the stomach acid that is constantly flushed through them. For the same reason, maintenance is called often to the house to clean out pipes clogged with vomit. I won't give away too much of the book, but you should know that over 75% of sorority girls have been sexually assaulted, most often by a fraternity member.

No, It's Not.

A personal disease cannot be controlled. A person becomes stricken with disease through no fault of their own. They are accosted from within, ravaged by pain, and humbled by their own mortality. Families are pillaged to pay medical costs. The individual emotional distress can be overwhelming. Cancer and bipolar disorder fall into the category of personal disease.

A societal disease is an affliction that cannot be controlled by the entity effected by it. Whether it is slow and degenerative (like religion) or swift and chaotic (like AIDS), the results are often devastating. Many of these diseases can be constrained by legal restrictions or common sense for a period of time before exploding on a world-scale. Drug and alcohol addiction fall into the category of societal disease, not personal disease.

So everyone say it with me: Drug and Alcohol addiction is NOT A PERSONAL DISEASE. Why? Because a person can decide at any time to put the beer down and back away from the cocaine. No higher power is required. There is only one step. Personal responsibility is a necessary lesson in life, and many people fail the test (and ruin it for the rest of us) by refusing to learn to partake without excess.

Forget the excuses. Addiction runs in my family, too. In fact, it runs in every family. Just because no one calls someone who plays video games 12 hours a day an addict doesn't mean he's not one. We all use escapes, some more obsessively than others. To practice them in moderation is the key, but you must be taught to do so. Temperance is not something that is seen often in America, and many of our societal ills have a lot to do with what we teach our children. If we teach people to refrain from drug and alcohol use, we are not teaching them to live in the world around them. There is a time and a place (and a limit) for everything, and addicts have not learned to recognize that fact.